The opening defined by the ankle portion in infant footwear is generally almost as large as the infant's foot because an infant's foot is generally only slightly larger than the infant's ankle. Therefore, infant footwear may easily slip off the infant's foot. In addition, infant footwear is typically made of soft material and is lightweight. Therefore, when the footwear falls off the infant's foot and makes contact with the ground, the footwear does not make an audible noise to alert an adult with the infant that the footwear has fallen off the infant's foot. When the adult eventually discovers that the footwear is no longer on the infant's foot, it may be too late to recover or to find the lost footwear.
One solution to prevent loss of the infant footwear is to design the footwear with a band sewn to the portion of the footwear wrapping the infant's ankle such that the elastic band extends about the ankle, as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,976,050 issued to Houghteling. A male and female member of a snap fit fastener are attached respectively to opposite ends of the elastic band to secure the footwear about the infant's ankle. Although this solution may be successful in keeping the footwear on the infant's feet, the solution causes other problems. The elastic band may cause discomfort to the infant. Furthermore, the elastic band must be incorporated into the footwear and thus, cannot be adapted to be used with already existing footwear.
A brace for infant footwear disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,445,598 does not have to be incorporated into the footwear when manufactured. However, the brace may cause discomfort to the infant. The brace is comprised of a band that is slipped over the infant's foot to rest around the ankle portion of the footwear being worn. Then, the band is twisted once to form another loop which is stretched over the foot and released around the arch portion of the footwear.
Therefore, a need arises for a device that prevents loss of the infant footwear, without exerting additional pressure on the infant's foot and causing discomfort to the infant. The device should be capable of use with various footwear, including existing footwear.